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The Hogan Family
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| The Hogan Family | |
|---|---|
Original cast from 1986–1987 | |
| Also known as | Valerie (1986–1987) Valerie's Family: The Hogans (1987–1988) |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | Charlie Hauck |
| Starring |
|
| Theme music composer | |
| Opening theme | "Together Through the Years", performed by Roberta Flack |
| Composer | Bruce Miller |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 110 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producers |
|
| Camera setup | Film; Multi-camera |
| Running time | 22–24 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | March 1, 1986 – May 7, 1990 |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | September 15, 1990 – July 20, 1991 |
The Hogan Family (originally titled Valerie and later Valerie's Family: The Hogans) is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from March 1, 1986 to May 7, 1990, and later aired on CBS from September 15, 1990 to July 20, 1991, for a total of six seasons. It was produced in association with Lorimar Productions (1986), Lorimar-Telepictures (1986–88), and Lorimar Television (1988–91).
Under the title Valerie, the show centered on Valerie Harper in the title role as a mother trying to juggle her career as a buyer for an auction house and raising three teenage sons with an absent airline pilot husband (Josh Taylor). After the first two seasons, due to a salary dispute involving future ancillary profits, Harper was fired from the show. Her character was killed off at the start of season three, and Sandy Duncan joined the cast as Valerie's sister-in-law and the boys' aunt. The series was retitled Valerie's Family: The Hogans, and for the rest of the series, it was retitled The Hogan Family.
Cast
[edit]- Valerie Harper as Valerie Hogan (seasons 1–2)
- Sandy Duncan as Sandy Hogan (seasons 3–6) who replaced Valerie as the mother figure of the family
- Jason Bateman as David Hogan
- Danny Ponce as Willie Hogan
- Jeremy Licht as Mark Hogan
- Josh Taylor as Michael Hogan
- Christine Ebersole as Barbara Goodwin (season 1)
- Judith Kahan as Annie Steck (season 2)
- Edie McClurg as Mrs. Patty Poole (seasons 2–6)
- Tom Hodges as Rich (seasons 2–4, guest appearance in season 6)
- Steve Witting as Burt Weems (seasons 3–6; previously made guest appearances in season 2)
- Willard Scott as Peter Poole (seasons 3–4)
- Angela Lee as Brenda Walker (seasons 5–6)
- Josie Bissett as Cara Eisenberg (seasons 5–6)
- John Hillerman as Lloyd Hogan (season 6)
- Lisa Rinna as Annie Derrick (recurring; season 5)
Episodes
[edit]| Season | Title | Episodes | Originally released | Rank | Rating | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | Network | ||||||
| 1 | Valerie | 10 | March 1, 1986 | May 19, 1986 | NBC | #24 | 18.1 (tied with Moonlighting and Falcon Crest) | |
| 2 | 22 | September 28, 1986 | May 4, 1987 | #39 | 14.8 (tied with The ABC Sunday Night Movie)[1] | |||
| 3 | Valerie's Family: The Hogans | 21 | September 21, 1987 | May 2, 1988 | #20 | 16.9 (tied with My Two Dads) | ||
| 4 | The Hogan Family | 21 | October 3, 1988 | May 8, 1989 | #22 | 16.3 (tied with NBC Sunday Night Movie and The Wonder Years) | ||
| 5 | 23 | September 18, 1989 | May 7, 1990 | #32 | 14.2[2] | |||
| 6 | 13 | September 15, 1990 | July 20, 1991 | CBS | #85 | 6.5 (tied with Cop Rock)[3] | ||
Early seasons
[edit]Like most American sitcoms in the 1980s, the series sometimes dealt with moral conflicts, but not in a heavy-handed fashion. In the very special episode "Bad Timing", which first aired February 7, 1987, David and a former girlfriend debate whether to have sex.[4][5] The episode featured the first use of the word condom on a prime time television program.[6]
After a modest start in the ratings that was countered by critical success, Valerie had begun to show growth in the Nielsens by the end of the 1986–87 season. Its most significant ratings jump occurred after its moving to Mondays at 8:30/7:30c in March 1987, following ALF. NBC renewed the series for a third season in May. In light of the show's success, Harper and her husband, Tony Cacciotti, approached their producers and NBC about per-episode salary increases and a larger cut of future syndication revenue.[7] When all of the couple's requests were refused, Harper and Cacciotti walked out on Valerie. Harper had prior history in this situation, as she staged a walkout in 1975 following the first season of her hit series Rhoda (and its parent series, The Mary Tyler Moore Show) which successfully resulted in a pay increase.[7]
The couple continued to negotiate with Miller-Boyett Productions, Lorimar-Telepictures and NBC during the next few months as the behind-the-scenes struggle became well publicized. NBC programming chief Brandon Tartikoff, who was unhappy with the feud, publicly stated that he would replace Harper with another actress if the fighting did not cease. Tartikoff suggested Sandy Duncan as a replacement to Miller and Boyett, who both sided with the network chief in this possible casting decision. Duncan had recently signed a contract with NBC for a starring vehicle, and Tartikoff felt that this would be the best opportunity for her to make use of it.[7] Though the NBC case was dismissed, Harper and Cacciotti won their trial against Lorimar on September 16, 1988, and were awarded $1.82 million in damages; which they both later donated to various charities. Harper left the show and was replaced by Duncan as the female lead.[7][8]
Network switch
[edit]
In 1990, after spending three of the last four years on Monday nights at 8:30/7:30 (having been on Sundays before that), NBC opted not to respond to an agreement made with Lorimar insisting that the network had to exercise renewal options on the series before April 1. Despite the series still sporting decent ratings, NBC stated that it chose not to renew The Hogan Family "because of the strength of our current development."[9] The show was then picked up by CBS for the sixth and final season.
Production
[edit]Theme music and presentation
[edit]The theme song, "Together Through the Years", was performed by Roberta Flack and composed by Charles Fox. The lyrics were written by Stephen Geyer.
Syndication
[edit]The Hogan Family aired in U.S. syndication on local television stations, from September 1990 until the summer of 1998. From August 1998 until August 1999, startup broadcast network PAX TV aired reruns of the series weekdays at 4/3c.
ABC Family previously held the U.S. syndication rights to the program and had aired episodes twice daily for five weeks from September 25 to October 27, 2006. It has discontinued running the show since then.
In Canada, the Crossroads Television System held the Canadian syndication rights and began airing the show on Wednesday nights. It discontinued airing the show in 2011.
The Hogan Family title was used for syndicated showings of almost all episodes, including those broadcast as Valerie or Valerie's Family, along with a shortened theme.
In 2016, Antenna TV announced that it would air the series in 2017.[10][11] The Christmas episode was the first to air on the network on December 16, during a marathon of holiday-themed episodes from Antenna TV programs throughout the month,[12] before the show officially joined the lineup on January 2, 2018.[13]
On September 1, 2021, the series began airing on Antenna TV's new sister network Rewind TV, which features sitcoms from the 1980s through the 2000s until it was removed on September 27, 2025.[14]
In the United Kingdom, the series was shown on BBC1 from 1986 to 1992.[15]
See also
[edit]- The Conners, the revamped revival of Roseanne after Roseanne Barr was fired, that also killed off her character
References
[edit]- ^ "1986-87 Ratings History".
- ^ "1989-90 Ratings History".
- ^ "1990-91 Ratings History".
- ^ "Albany TV station cancels NBC show over condom issue". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 8, 1987. Retrieved August 14, 2008.
- ^ Lewin, Tamar (March 8, 1987). "New sex mores are chilling TV ardor". The New York Times. Retrieved August 14, 2008.
- ^ Rettenmund, Matthew (October 15, 1996). Totally Awesome 80s: A Lexicon of the Music, Videos, Movies, TV Shows, Stars, and Trends of that Decadent Decade. Macmillan. ISBN 9780312144364. Archived from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved December 15, 2020 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d Weinman, Jaime (November 28, 2008). "The 20th Anniversary Of the Most Awesomest TV Contract Dispute Ever". Maclean's. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- ^ Freeman, Patricia (October 3, 1988). "Valerie Harper Gets Her Day in Court, And, Umm, It's Sweet". People. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- ^ Haithman, Diane (April 19, 1990). "'Hogan Family' Jump to CBS Called an Exception : Television: The NBC sitcom's switch to a rival network won't inspire similar moves, a Lorimar executive says". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
- ^ "Tribune Media – Antenna TV Adds 9 New Programs In 2017". Tribune Media.
- ^ "Antenna TV to Add 9 Sitcoms for Fall 2017; MeTV and Decades Remembers Martin Landau – SitcomsOnline.com News Blog". blog.sitcomsonline.com.
- ^ "Antenna TV Holiday 2017 Schedule, Includes Christmas; HBO Returns Two Comedies in January – SitcomsOnline.com News Blog". blog.sitcomsonline.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
- ^ "Antenna TV January 2018 Schedule Includes Gimme a Break! and Coach; Pop Launches Wednesday Comedies in January – SitcomsOnline.com News Blog". blog.sitcomsonline.com. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
- ^ "The Hogan Family Sun 9p ET | 6p PT".
- ^ "BBC - Comedy - Guide - Valerie / Valerie's Family / The Hogan Family". March 7, 2005. Archived from the original on March 7, 2005.
External links
[edit]The Hogan Family
View on GrokipediaPremise
Core plot and family dynamics
The Hogan Family depicts the everyday trials of a middle-class suburban household in Oak Park, Illinois, centered on parental efforts to guide three sons through adolescence amid typical 1980s domestic challenges such as curfews, dating dilemmas, and academic pressures.[1] In the initial season, the narrative follows the mother as the primary caregiver, handling household responsibilities and family decisions largely independently due to the father's frequent absences as an airline pilot, which underscores themes of self-reliant parenting and work-life balance in a dual-income era.[4] This setup generates comedic tension from generational clashes, including the eldest son's budding independence, the middle child's earnest rule-following, and the youngest's mischievous antics, often resolved with lighthearted moral takeaways emphasizing communication and forgiveness.[1] Sibling rivalry forms a recurring dynamic, portrayed through pranks, competition for attention, and mutual support during crises like school failures or peer conflicts, reflecting realistic fraternal bonds in a single-parent-dominated home environment.[5] The father's intermittent presence adds layers of longing and reunion humor, with episodes highlighting his attempts to reconnect despite jet-lag and flight schedules, fostering a tone of resilient optimism rather than overt dysfunction.[6] After the first season, the premise evolves to address loss and adaptation: the mother dies in a car accident, rendering the father a widower responsible for the boys, with his sister-in-law stepping in as a live-in aunt to provide stability and nurturing guidance.[7] This shift intensifies focus on extended family roles in child-rearing, portraying the aunt's optimistic, structured approach as complementary to the father's more distant involvement, while preserving the core humor in navigating grief, household chaos, and teenage milestones like first jobs or romances.[8] The dynamics emphasize causal resilience—external disruptions like bereavement test but ultimately strengthen familial ties through shared problem-solving and affection, avoiding melodrama in favor of situational comedy rooted in plausible relational cause-and-effect.[5]Cast and characters
Main cast
Valerie Harper portrayed Valerie Hogan, the central maternal figure and working mother managing household duties and her three sons while her husband frequently traveled as an airline pilot, across the first two seasons from 1986 to 1987.[1][9] Sandy Duncan assumed the role of Sandy Hogan, the boys' aunt who relocated to the family home to provide guidance and stability as a surrogate mother following Valerie's off-screen death, appearing in seasons 3 through 6 from 1988 to 1991.[1][10] Jason Bateman played David Hogan, the eldest son characterized by his sarcastic wit and involvement in typical teenage escapades such as dating mishaps and school challenges, throughout all 110 episodes across the series' run.[11][9] Josh Taylor depicted Michael Hogan, the family patriarch and commercial airline pilot whose professional absences underscored the maternal leads' primary child-rearing responsibilities, in every season.[1][12] Jeremy Licht embodied Mark Hogan, the middle child often navigating sibling dynamics and personal growth amid family events, for the full duration of the show.[11][13] Danny Ponce (credited as Dan Ponce in some sources) acted as Willie Hogan, the youngest son prone to mischievous antics and learning life lessons through everyday mishaps, across all episodes.[11][14]| Actor | Character | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Valerie Harper | Valerie Hogan | 1–2 |
| Sandy Duncan | Sandy Hogan | 3–6 |
| Jason Bateman | David Hogan | 1–6 |
| Josh Taylor | Michael Hogan | 1–6 |
| Jeremy Licht | Mark Hogan | 1–6 |
| Danny Ponce | Willie Hogan | 1–6 |
Recurring and guest roles
Judith Kahan portrayed Annie Steck, a neighbor and close friend of the Hogan family, in season 2, appearing in 9 episodes to facilitate storylines involving communal support and parenting advice.[16] Edie McClurg recurred as Mrs. Patty Poole, the loquacious secretary at Michael Hogan's airline office, across 86 episodes from seasons 2 to 6, injecting workplace humor through her meddlesome personality and interactions with the family.[16]| Actor | Character | Appearances | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Judith Kahan | Annie Steck | 9 (season 2) | Neighbor aiding family dynamics |
| Edie McClurg | Patty Poole | 86 (seasons 2–6) | Michael's gossipy office secretary |
| Steve Witting | Burt Weems | 78 (seasons 3–6) | David's awkward teenage friend involved in school and dating subplots |
